THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary- October 29, 2016- Topic 1
Extending food security
The Centre’s coercive method has
worked. Tamil Nadu and Kerala, the two States that were holding out against
pressure from New Delhi to implement the National Food Security Act (NFSA),
have also fallen in line. By threatening to raise the price at which it was
allocating foodgrains if they did not implement the law, the Centre has managed
to get these two States to agree to the implementation of the Act from November
1. If they had not done so, they would have had to pay Rs.22.54 a kg for rice
for their monthly allocations under the ‘above poverty line’ (APL) category, as
against the Rs.8.30 a kg they are paying now. For Tamil Nadu, it would have
meant an additional expenditure of Rs.2,730 crore, over and above the Rs.2,393
crore it is spending on its universal public distribution system (PDS). The
State says it will implement the Act and also continue its universal PDS
coverage. In the bargain, it will have to maintain a uniform supply of 5 kg of
rice per person as stipulated in the NFSA, and protect the existing
entitlements of PDS beneficiaries. The resultant increase in offtake would
result in additional expenditure of Rs.1,193 crore for Tamil Nadu. Kerala
maintains an APL-BPL distinction in its PDS. However, its concerns over the
implementation of the Act related to the possibility that many beneficiaries
may be left out under the Centre’s categorisation of PDS consumers into
‘priority households’ and others.
Over the last year or so, Kerala and
Tamil Nadu had been warming to the idea of joining the NFSA, but sought time to
do so. They wanted to complete end-to-end computerisation of their PDS and the
process of seeding Aadhaar numbers with family cards. One clear advantage of
joining the national food security system now is that the computerisation and Aadhaar
seeding process may result in the elimination of bogus cards and beneficiaries.
Tamil Nadu’s case for such a clean-up is glaring as the number of people
covered by its family cards is about 7.81 crore while the State’s population is
7.21 crore. There are lessons for both the Centre and the States in this
conflict involving a zealous Central government seeking to force its idea of
food security on States that believe they are already addressing the issue with
the same, if not greater, level of seriousness. A national food security law
may hold good for States with weak food security systems — but for the rest, it
would perhaps be better if States implemented their own schemes. On the other
hand, the States need to temper their zeal for ‘more than universal’ coverage
with a realistic assessment and identification of beneficiaries.
Vocabulary
Coercive: relating to or using force or threats.
Example: Coercive measures
Bargain: an agreement between two or more parties as to what each party will do for
the other.
Example: The extraconstitutional bargain between the northern elite and the southern
planters
Synonyms: agreement, arrangement, understanding, deal, contract, pact
Stipulated: demand or specify (a requirement), typically as part of a bargain or agreement.
Example: He stipulated certain conditions before their marriage
Synonyms: specify, set down, set out, lay down, demand, require, insist
on
Entitlement: the fact of having a right to something.
Example: Full entitlement to fees and maintenance should be offered
Synonyms: right, prerogative, claim, permission, dispensation, privilege
Warming: make or become warm.
Example: I stamped my feet to warm them up
Synonyms: heat (up), reheat, cook, thaw (out), melt, warm
up, microwav
Zealous: having or showing zeal.
Example: The council was extremely zealous in the application of the regulations
Synonyms: fervent, ardent, fervid, fanatical, passionate, impassioned, devou
Perhaps: used to express uncertainty or possibility.
Example: Perhaps I should have been frank with him
Synonyms: maybe, for
all one knows, it could be, it may be, it's possible
